Ark: Journals of a New World
by Sushifox
Summary: When the survivors awake on The Center, they are lost, scattered, and surrounded by danger. In order to survive, they have no choice but to band together to establish a foothold from which to venture across a world ruled by prehistoric beasts. Only by proving their undisputed dominance can they unravel the mysteries of the Ark and find their way home.
1. Chapter 1

**Day 1**

Jade:

Where am I?

I somehow woke up somewhere that isn't my bed, isn't my room, and definitely isn't anywhere I've ever heard of before. Honestly, I don't know what it was that tipped me off. Maybe the gigantic freaking monsters that are all over the place?

I didn't even have time to stretch when I woke up earlier before some three horned thing started charging at me. It was all scaly and alien and it smelled funny and _what the hell_? It chased me all the way into the jungle (oh yeah, because if monsters weren't already bad enough, now I have to deal with humidity and bugs everywhere) and now it's dark out and I'm hiding as far up a tree as I could climb. There are things crashing around below me, but I think I'm up high enough that they can't reach me. Hopefully.

Alright. I think I'm a bit calmer now. Writing my thoughts down has always helped me keep myself together, although it unfortunately doesn't really distract me from how hungry I am. At least this thing in my arm glows enough that I can kind of see around me.

Oh, yeah, that's another thing. There's some… machine or something stuck in my arm. Like, _into_ my arm. I tried pulling it out earlier, but its stuck and all I managed to do was make my arm sore. At least it doesn't itch?

I want to go home.

* * *

Adam:

This is so cool! There are dinosaurs everywhere! I mean, I have absolutely no clue where I am, or what this thing in my arm is, but _freaking dinosaurs_!

Alright, alright, lemme back things up a bit. So, I woke up on the nicest beach I've ever seen earlier, and had no clue how I got there (still don't, but I'll figure it out eventually), and at first I thought that maybe I had managed to sleep walk my way all the way to Miami or something. It wouldn't be the first time. But then, after walking around for an hour or so and seeing all these weird chickens all over the beach, I saw what I thought was a really, really weird tree from the corner of my eye. Only, it wasn't a grey, scaly, diseased tree, it was a freaking brontosaurus! _A real, live bronto!_

I tried talking to it, but it ignored me. Didn't even look at me when I walked up and patted its leg. Or, well, its foot. Thing is huge. Maybe I should try yelling louder to it tomorrow- its head _is_ pretty far up there.

Anyways, after I tried getting its attention for a while, I noticed it was pulling these berries off the trees that kinda looked like blackberries, only electric blue. It seemed to really like them, and I was starving, so I followed it around and ate a bunch of the ones that were close to the ground. They were awesome. I probably shouldn't go around just eating unknown fruits, to be honest, but hey- at least I was smart enough not to eat the red ones, right? Plus, I'm writing this and haven't died yet, so the berries I ate shouldn't be poisonous.

Anyways, eventually I followed the bronto back to a big clearing a little bit away from the beach, and a bunch of its friends are here. They don't seem to mind me being here, so I guess I'm just gonna crash here for the night. All weirdness of the day aside, it's kinda nice being able to see the stars for once.

* * *

Berry:

 _Journal Entry One, Day One, Southern Tropical Island_

So as to keep a log of all of my actions and prior locations, I plan to record as many of my thoughts into this journal as possible at the end of each day, along with as accurate of a map as I can make without a bird's eye view or any cartography tools. Thankfully, after examining it for some time, I found that this mechanism in my arm offers the name of my current location in addition to its various other functions. It should assist in keeping track of where I am.

Now, to start with my current thoughts, I suspect I have been abducted by aliens and promptly tagged and abandoned in a foreign environment. It sounds utterly mad, but this marker embedded in my left forearm is far more advanced than any technology currently available. Setting aside my excitement at what may be confirmation of extraterrestrial life, what this means for the moment is that I must find a way to survive in what is very possibly a hostile environment. There are hundreds of what should be extinct organisms roaming near my current position, and many of them appear to be predatory. The creatures that look to be greatly enlarged velociraptors are of particular concern, although I have only observed them from a distance for the time being.

Unfortunately, I have not found any evidence of other humans present in my vicinity. While this may sound cruel, I have no choice but to hope that there are other people who were abducted and inserted into this environment. Without a group, I have little hope for my extended survival, much less any sort of organized and extended escape plan. Tomorrow I plan to continue exploring my area, keeping an eye out for any other abductees. As long as I am cautious, I should be capable of moving along the beach without alerting any of the predators that wander the jungle.

For the moment, I have found a small, shallow cave that is suitable for me to set up a camp. I spent the later hours of today crafting a woven curtain to disguise the entrance to my cave, coated in the potent smelling juices of the numerous black berries growing on the low bushes of the jungle. It should serve to temporarily hide my position from anything that seeks to eat me, in addition to keeping out the chill night air. In addition, the extra fiber I was able to harvest from the bushes with my alien tool is reasonably soft and warm, and will work as bedding for the night.

As it is late, and I will have to wake early in order to make the most of my time, I will leave describing the various intricacies and functions of the alien tool until tomorrow- or perhaps I will simply describe them over time as they become more important. Either way, I shall not be writing about them this evening so as to leave time for me to sleep.

On a side note, I must find some way to alter my clothing to be better suited to my environment. Unsurprisingly, a silk nightgown is a less than satisfactory outfit for a jungle expedition.

* * *

Mumbuto:

I have woken far from my home and family, surrounded by creatures I have never seen before. One of the small, frilled ones attacked me shortly after I came to my senses on the shores at the edge of the seaside jungle. It fought bravely, with a viciousness I have rarely witnessed before even from the lions of home. Although it was no larger than a young hyena, it very nearly managed to take my life. Weaponless as I am, I was forced to meet its teeth and claws with nothing more than a stone snatched from the sand. After some time, I proved that it was not my match in close combat and it backed away, hissing and expanding its frills. I thought it to be no more than a display, and moved forward to seal my victory.

I had become overconfident and lowered my guard. A mistake, one that I should know to avoid, and one that nearly proved deadly. Before I could strike the creature down with my stone, it launched a thick, burning venom into my face. Although I narrowly avoided much of it, a small stream struck near my eyes, and for a short time, I was blinded. In that moment, the creature opened a terrible wound across my belly. However, the creature did not escape unscathed, as I slammed my stone into its skull, felling it for good.

In honor of the creature's strength, I now feast upon its flesh so that I may carry its spirit with me in future battles. Its frill I carry around my neck and across my shoulders as a trophy of my victory, and as a cloak to warm me on this cold night. The creature's spirit approves, as it has helped me to speed the healing of the wound it inflicted. It will scar, but will serve as a memory of my mistake and a warning toward those I may make in the future. When the sun rises, I shall craft myself a spear and make my way through the jungle, so that I may find my way home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Day 2**

Jade:

Seriously, where the hell am I?! I know that the jungle is supposed to have really large bugs, but this is ridiculous! Ants the size of dogs, dragonflies that look like something from a horror movie, and I'm pretty sure I just saw a scorpion scuttling down the beach that was larger than I am! How can it be okay for something that creepy to even exist?

Sigh. I was hoping this was just some sort of horrible nightmare when I went to sleep yesterday, but obviously I was being way too optimistic. When I woke up this morning and climbed down from my tree, I barely made it fifteen feet before I walked around a tree and ended up face to face with one of those three horned things that chased me before. At least this time it didn't immediately try to eat me, so I guess that's an improvement. In fact, it actually just ignored me and walked around chewing on bushes, although I ended up running away as soon as it turned around. Didn't want to give it time to change its mind.

I walked around for the entire day, and still haven't seen anything other than beach, jungle, and even more beach. The weird thing- or rather, one of the weird things- is that the sea is freshwater. I got chased into the sea by what seemed like a very angry seagull and accidentally swallowed some of the water, and its definitely drinkable. Which is good, I guess, since it doesn't seem like I'm going to get back to society any time soon.

Oh, another bright side of today is that I found a ton of these persimmonish looking fruits, and they're delicious. They grow all over the bushes, along with a bunch of these bright blue blackberries, cherries, plums, and some really dangerous looking white and black fruits. Normally I'd be really confused how so many kinds of fruit were growing on a single bush, but I've given up on questioning all the weirdness I'm seeing. Whatever. At least I'm not hungry anymore.

Anyways, I dug a hole in the sand under an absolutely enormous rock for my camp tonight. I covered up most of the entrance with a sand wall, so it should keep me warmer than I was last night. Hopefully its enough to hide from the monsters outside.

I'd almost think this was another of my brother's stupid pranks, but this is way too impressive for it to be him.

* * *

Adam:

I found other people!

Alright. So, starting from this morning, when I woke up I spent a few hours making an anklet for Rupert (my bronto friend) so that he'd remember me. I think he liked it! He even stood still so that I could climb up and tie it around his leg, instead of around his foot. Then, when I said goodbye to him, he leaned down and nudged me with his head. I'm gonna miss Rupert, but I couldn't follow him around all the time. I mean, I still have to figure out where I am.

After I parted ways with Rupert, I went and started walking down the beach. I thought it would be easier to keep track of where I was if I stayed by the coast rather than running through the jungle, but it turns out that I'm actually on an island. Its shaped a bit like a horseshoe, but it's kind of small, so it only took me about half the day to make it all the way around and get back to where I started. Didn't see any buildings or people on the beach though, so now I know for a fact I'm not in the U.S. All this beachfront property, and nobody bothered to take advantage of it to make a sweet house or some corporate resort? No way that's possible.

Anyways, I figured since there was nothing on the beach, I was gonna have to explore the jungle if I was gonna find someone to explain where I am. Before I could though, I ended up tripping over this guy (his name's Olly) who was just waking up on the beach! At first I thought he had been tanning or something, since he was completely naked and spread eagle in the sand, but realized that wasn't right when he started freaking out hardcore.

Well, once he calmed down, I managed to convince him to come explore with me, since he obviously had no idea what to do. I thought I was pretty lucky, running into just one other person so easily, but then we found another guy!

To be honest, we didn't actually think he was human when we saw him at first. He was wearing what looked like a really huge lizard frill draped around his neck, kind of like a mini poncho, and from a distance it looked like he was some sort of scary ape-reptile hybrid. Er, not that I'm trying to be racist or anything, its just… well, whatever. Its not like anybody else is gonna be reading this. I know what I mean.

So, this guy, Mumbuto, sees us and comes walking over, and we ended up getting along great! He decided to join up with Olly and I for now, since he had already explored the jungle earlier in the day and I had explored the beach. Said he hadn't seen anybody, so I guess we'll have to look somewhere else if we're gonna find someone to tell us where we are. For now, we've set up a mini camp between the bay and the cliffside on the inside of the horseshoe. Mumbuto said it would give us a better view of anything trying to sneak up on us, and the cliffside would help protect us from some of the wind. He seems really alert and on edge for some reason. I wonder why?

* * *

Berry:

 _Journal Entry Two, Day Two, Southern Tropical Island_

The capabilities of this alien tool are even greater than I had first assumed. Not only can it assist me with gathering materials from my surroundings with far greater efficiency than I can achieve with my bare hands, it is also capable of storing them in some sort of enclosed, alternate space. It appears to be a completely separate pocket dimension that exists inside of the tool, one with a far greater volume than should be physically possible. As of now, I have kept several crude tools (a pickaxe, a hatchet, and a club) and various berries inside, but have yet to reach the maximum capacity of the space.

The alien tool also possesses replication abilities. After crafting my tools, the alien technology automatically scanned them with a blue beam of light and recorded their structure in an internal database. It now has an option to recreate previously scanned objects as long as I have the proper materials inside its storage. Off the top of my head, I can think of several ways in which I can apply this ability to enhance my chances of survival, although this feature would be far more useful were I to be a part of a group.

Speaking of groups, I came across evidence of human presence elsewhere on this island earlier today. The burned out remnants of a campfire were on the beach next to what seemed to be the carved up carcass of one of the smaller dinosaurs. At the time I first came upon it, the ashes were still slightly heated, signifying its recent usage. Unfortunately, although I waited by the fire for some time after the sun set, the owner of the campfire never returned. I plan on searching the beaches for other survivors tomorrow evening. It is unlikely that the other survivors will find shelter inside the jungle, as the larger, more dangerous creatures have claimed it as their territory.

As of yet, despite my struggles over nearly a dozen hours, I am still limited in clothing to only my nightgown. I must admit, for all my medical ability, my knowledge is nearly non-existent when it comes to creating things with my own hands. While I eventually managed to use plant fibers to craft something faintly resembling fabric, my attempts at creating pants ended in abject failure. Even my 'pickaxe' is little more than a sharp stone tied to the end of a stick, as is my 'hatchet'. I have little choice but to find others and rely on them to assist me in the creation of extra clothing and tools. Thankfully, I still have my socks, or I wouldn't know what I would do. I should reinforce their soles with my self-made fabric, or the sand and rocks will tear quickly tear them to shreds.

* * *

Mumbuto:

I must stay wary. A beast of legend stalks these lands, one I fear myself unworthy of meeting in combat. Its every step shook the very earth, its roar caused even the air to tremble in fear, and each of its fangs were like the keenest swords. When first I came across the beast, I bravely met its charge with honor. To my horror, nothing I did could wound it, its hide of finest iron causing my spear to shatter as soon as I struck against it. Never before have I fled from battle, whether I faced the mighty lions or the deadly warriors of foreign tribes. Against this terrible beast, I had no choice.

I am no coward, but against a monster of the deepest hells, what could I do but flee? Against any beast or warrior of the savannah, I stand firm and strong, but this is no creature of my world. I fear that I have been cursed by black magic and dragged to a land of monsters in my sleep.

Now, at the setting of the sun, I find myself in the company of two strange men, pale and weak. They are no warriors, but they offered food and spoke of their quest for answers. I shall help these men. Their journey shall be my own, and I will find my way home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Day 3**

Adam:

Ho. Ly. Shit. Am I dreaming, or is it actually possible for a woman to be so stupidly gorgeous?

The first thing I saw this morning when I woke up was Mumbuto staring straight at me from just a few feet away, and it almost made me want to close my eyes and pretend I was still asleep so he wouldn't eat me. That man is freaking terrifying. I don't know what it is about him. Something in his eyes just seems scary. He didn't kill us in our sleep, so I'm not overly worried, but I'm almost positive he's not from anywhere civilized. Er, because of how he holds himself and acts, not because he's… sigh. I need to find better ways to phrase things, or people are going to start thinking I'm racist.

Anyways, just after I took a moment to change my underwear (not really, but still. Terrifying), we heard this really cute voice shouting at us from a bit further down the beach. I turned around and just… wow. If this is what women are like on this island, then I'm glad I'm stuck here. She walked up to us and started asking us questions, but I was so stunned that Olly and Mumbuto had to answer her instead of me.

Honestly, the rest of the day is a bit of a blur. I was pretty distracted by Berry (oh yeah, that's the woman's name) the entire time we were searching through the jungle. I do remember that we stayed along the outskirts of the jungle the entire time instead of searching deeper in. No idea why. They probably mentioned it at some point in time, but, like I said. Distracted.

The only thought I remember having earlier was that I was so glad Olly took time last night to make himself a loincloth-skirt thing with some of the plants. Wouldn't want him scaring away Berry by waving his dick at her.

* * *

Olly:

Well, I guess I'm going to be writing a journal from now on too. At the very least, it'll give me evidence that this isn't all one big dream once I make it out of wherever this is. If I can make it out. We haven't found any evidence of civilization while searching the island so far, and I doubt we'll see anything deeper in the jungle.

Wait. Don't think that way, Olly. There has to be something hidden in the jungle that can get us out of here. There _is_ something hidden in the jungle. Something that can fly. Something that will keep me out of the ocean. The ocean that's all around me and filled with sharks. Sharks the size of a god damn submarine.

Someone help me.

* * *

Berry:

 _Journal Entry Three, Day Three, Southern Tropical Island_

I have encountered other survivors. It was surprisingly simple to find them. After walking down the shoreline for approximately one and a half hours, I reached the most inland area of the island's bay, where I found three men who had set up a small camp next to the cliffside. Unfortunately, upon greeting them and exchanging information, it became apparent that both their group and I are similarly clueless pertaining to our current situation.

Of the three men, Mumbuto is the most useful in our search for a way to contact civilization. He knows far more than I do about finding his way through the jungle and keeping track of our location, which should increase our chances of searching the island without incident. However, there is a possibility that he could draw unwanted danger to our group sometime in the future, as his first response to any matters involving the creatures of the island is extreme violence. While it is comforting to know that I no longer have to worry about the smaller predators, I hope that Mumbuto can show some restraint when it comes to the raptors I have occasionally spotted in the distance.

Olly, while less knowledgeable about exploration than Mumbuto, is extremely enthusiastic in our search. His optimism toward finding transport somewhere deeper into the island seems unwarranted, but I suspect it to be a coping mechanism. Strangely enough, his expression went completely deadpan when I offhandedly mentioned building a raft to travel to the other small islands and the larger land mass a short sail away. I'm not certain why he would think there was transport here, but would seem to have no hope in finding transport on the far larger land mass.

Adam may have had some sort of head trauma after coming to the island, as he spent the majority of the day following us and looking at me with a blank look on his face. He said next to nothing from the moment I met him. However, judging by how the other two automatically looked to him to answer when I asked questions, I assume that he is normally different from how he was earlier. I will reserve my initial judgements on him until he has recovered.

Neither Mumbuto nor Olly wear any sort of covering on their feet. I will have to find a way to create some sort of footwear and convince them to wear it, before the sight of their feet gives me an anxiety attack.

* * *

Mumbuto:

Today we were joined by a woman, small of frame and stature. For her to have survived the creatures of this land for these past days speaks highly of her cunning or good luck. She will be of great help to our quest, but whether her purpose will be that of a plan-maker or a good luck charm I do not know.

My spear was finished early this morning, crafted with the razor fangs and courageous soul of the first venom-spitter. With it in hand, the venom-spitters and other small creatures are of no threat. Many venom-spitters fell by my hand this day. To my disappointment, none were the equal of my first opponent. There is no glory to be had from besting the weak.

Still, I harvested their skin and flesh. Weak as they are, they will still be of aid in our journey. The Berry woman took great interest in my actions, watching the motions of my hands. I do not know why she did this, but it did no harm and so I ignored her.

I kept us to the edges of the jungle today, far from the home of the monster, but no tribes make their home in these outskirts. Tomorrow, we shall journey deeper. I fear the monster will be enraged, but there is no choice. We will leave its lands before the stars take their places in the dark sky, before the monster wakes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Day 4**

Jade:

What am I doing? I'm going to get myself killed, because I can't bring myself to leave this animal to die- in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it turns around and kills me as soon as it finishes healing. I should just run away; I've already helped it get water and a little bit of food, that's enough, right? But what if I leave, and it needs more food and water later, and ends up dying? I just...

I was walking along the beach yesterday morning when I heard something dragging itself through the sand and whimpering in pain. At first, I backed up and got ready to walk around whatever was making the noise, since I assumed something was fighting near me, but after I realized that it was only a single, wounded animal, I snuck up to take a peek. I thought that if it was having problems moving across the sand, there was no way it would be able to chase me down.

I was right. It looked a lot like the velociraptors I used to love from the old Jurassic Park movies, only much larger and prettier. Prettier, except for the massive gash across its side and right thigh. It was trying to drag itself to the sea to get some water. Not just limping, but actually dragging itself with its front arms and its one good leg and its jaw and just-

I couldn't leave it there, not after I saw how hard it was trying and how hurt it looked. At first, when I walked up to it to try and help it to the water, it growled and snapped its fangs at me. It was probably worried that I was trying to eat it, and I didn't want to stress it out, so I ran around until I found the biggest palm leaf I could find and used it as a dish to bring the raptor some water. At that point, it recognized that I was trying to help, and let me walk up right to its head. Then, it looked right at me, and its eyes, those eyes, they weren't the eyes of some stupid monster, they were full of wariness and hope and intelligence. Something in the way it looked at me just wiped away any hesitation I still had, and I had to help it.

After a few more palm leaves of water, it was done drinking, but I was worried it would be hungry. The problem is, its a raptor. They don't eat fruit and berries, which is the only thing I've been eating. After an hour, I finally mustered up the courage to grab a sharpish rock and tie it to the end of a stick using a vine I found, and then chase down one of the strange chicken things that are everywhere. I had no idea how to skin it or anything, but the raptor didn't seem to mind. Actually, it ate the entire bird in only a few bites, and I had to get it two more before the raptor made this cooing sound at me and rubbed its head on my arm.

If I left it out there in the open, there was no way it would make it through the night. Something else would have noticed and come and eaten it, especially since its bright silvery-white scales kind of reflect light like some kind of 'here's dinner' beacon. I took most of the day to make a sort of sled out of palm leaves, sticks, and vines, then helped the raptor get onto it and dragged it to my little cave. I had to make my cave a lot bigger, but eventually I managed to fit both it and myself inside. The raptor fell asleep right after I got it into shelter. The poor thing must have been completely exhausted.

After it fell asleep, I got some more water and washed the sand and stuff out of its wound as gently as I could, then wrapped it with a bunch of strips of my shirt. That should keep dirt and flies out and help it heal. Luckily, its pretty warm here, or I'd have frozen overnight.

Today was spent pretty much the same way. I got water and more birds for the raptor, then holed up next to it. It still can't move, but it definitely seemed like it had more energy than it did yesterday.

Maybe I should make a new cave to sleep in, instead of sharing mine with something that probably wants to eat me.

* * *

Aiden:

 _Day 94 of my Amazon expedition_ , or rather, that's what I would say, but I have reason to believe this is no longer the situation. Three reasons, actually.

Reason one is that I woke up with nothing. Not my gear, my maps, my charts- nothing. Well, nothing that belongs to me. Or does having something forcefully jammed into my arm mean that it now belongs to me? Because if that's the case, then I woke up with nothing but some strange, glowing, metallic thing rammed into the meat of my left forearm. Of course, since I've never seen anything like it before, the first thing I did was start inspecting it— by which I mean I poked it vigorously until it shot out some sort of hologram. The hologram lists my current vital signs, a series of what appears to be numbers representing my physical statistics such as strength, speed, etc, and a two large sections labelled 'inventory' and 'designs'. It's pretty neat, actually, but definitely not a tool I've ever seen.

The second reason is that none of the flora I've inspected today is anything like the plants I've recorded in my travels. Most of the plants I would be familiar with are far larger than I'm used to seeing, like ferns the size of houses and horsetails twenty feet high.

And, last but not least, the **goddamned dinosaurs** that are walking around as though the last great extinction never happened. Its like I've stepped onto the movie set of the next Jurassic Park movie, only the actors are nowhere to be seen and the triceratops didn't respond anything like an animatronic when I got frustrated and hit it with a stick.

On a completely unrelated note, trikes do not appreciate being whacked by heavy branches and are very, very aggressive once provoked. Who would have guessed.

After my brisk morning jog, I spent the rest of my day gathering food, making some primitive tools, and building myself a small shelter high up in one of the trees. Very high up. I don't want to wake up face to face with a tyrannosaurus or something. The tool on my arm made building a shelter much simpler, being capable of absorbing and spitting out materials like some kind of Kirby knockoff. At one point, I stored two trees inside of it. And they weren't small trees.

This machine even has a journal to replace the one I used to have. Handy thing, really. If I manage to figure out where I am and make it home alive, I'm keeping this. Whoever sent me here isn't getting it back.

* * *

Olly:

I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die

* * *

Berry:

 _Journal Entry Four, Day Four, Southern Tropical Island_

As my new team member Olly appears to be in the throes of a severe nervous breakdown, I will have to keep today's journal entry short. Adam is obviously clueless as to how to handle somebody who has become completely irrational with panic, and Mumbuto is convinced that Olly has been cursed by black magic and summarily possessed by a demon. He is currently in the process of setting up a circle of blazing torches around our camp, as well as some kind of wood and stone platform in the center of said torches, all while chanting some kind of song under his breath. It is quite worrisome.

Today, we delved deep into the jungle and climbed to the highest point of the island, allowing us an uninhibited view of our surroundings. Predictably, we saw no signs of human habitation anywhere on this island. Upon this realization, I suggested going back to our camp by the beach, where we could build a raft to sail to the next island over.

That was when Olly went catatonic. Adam and I were forced to carry him all the way back to our base while Mumbuto cleared a path for us. The moment we reached our temporary home and Olly caught sight of the sea, he immediately began to shriek and scream unintelligibly. This has now continued for nearly four hours. Before I sat down to write, I mentioned that we may have to resort to violence— in the form of knocking him unconscious with my club— to quiet him down, so as to avoid drawing unwanted attention to ourselves. My patience is rapidly fading, and this plan of action is quickly becoming more and more appealing.

Now that I think about it, that was when Mumbuto began setting up his circle. He now appears to be hitting a rock against another rock. Strange. Perhaps he's crafting a new spearhead? Or maybe a knife?

Wait.

Oh god.


	5. Chapter 5

**Day 5**

Jade:

Are raptors supposed to heal this quickly? Actually, am I supposed to heal this quickly? Not that I'm complaining, but what? All of the scratches and cuts I got from shoving my way through the bushes on the first day are completely gone. In fact, I'm pretty sure that they've been gone for a while now. I didn't notice until now, but there aren't any scabs or even any marks on me anymore. Usually it would take at least a week for it to heal this thoroughly.

Even stranger, the raptor was completely healed when I woke up this morning. Not partially healed, not just feeling a little bit better, but completely healed. Not a scratch on it. I didn't realize it at first, since it hadn't moved at all when I first opened my eyes. It was just next to me, staring at me with its head cocked to the side like a large, scaly puppy. I assumed it would be hungry, so I pushed out the sand barrier I had set up the night before and crawled out to stretch and look for more beach chickens. When I turned around, the raptor was right behind me, walking around like it wasn't injured at all. Which makes sense, since it wasn't. I went to clean its bandages and realized I didn't need to.

Anyways, long story short, I apparently have a new friend. One who doesn't want to eat me. At least, I'm pretty certain she doesn't want to eat me. She didn't take a bite out of me earlier, even though she must have been starving judging by what happened to the first group of beach chickens we ended up finding. (R.I.P. beach chickens.) Even stranger was that she left two of the chickens off to the side after killing them. I didn't know why she did that at first, but then she carried them over and put them in front of me, then just stared at me with her head cocked to the side again. She must have realized that I was hungry too.

Something else I found out today; this thing stuck in my arm is able to absorb things and spit them back out. After I washed and plucked the dead beach chickens, I accidentally pressed on the center of the machine and it sent out this beam of blue light that just happened to hit the chicken, which then disappeared. It took me a little bit, but I eventually figured out how to make the thing spit my chicken back out, as well as how to access its display.

The main screen has a few sections to it; one labelled inventory, one labelled crafting, and a three dimensional rendering of my body that I can spin around and stuff. Anything sucked up by the machine shows up in the inventory, but the crafting section is blank for now. Not sure what the picture of my body is for yet. I do look pretty nice for having been stranded in monsterland for the past few days though.

It's getting late, and I think it should be safe, since my new friend can scare away anything that tries to eat me, to light a fire outside our little hiding place. I do need to cook this beach chicken before eating it, after all. It would be really stupid for me to die from salmonella poisoning or something after surviving through multiple encounters with a bunch of dinosaurs.

Yes, I'm now admitting to myself that these are dinosaurs. I kept calling them monsters before this because I was in complete denial, but I don't think I'm going anywhere in the near future, and I definitely won't live very long if I spend all this time lying to myself. To be fair, I didn't realize they were dinosaurs at first, so I can't blame it all on denial. At first, it was just blind panic. Now that I have my new friend though, I feel safe enough that the panic has gone away… mostly. I think. That strange feeling in my stomach is probably related to the fact that I'm starving, rather than the fact that I'm terrified.

Speaking of which, beach chicken. I wonder if I can find salt somewhere around here?

* * *

Adam

Well, Olly went off the deep end. He's just been sitting in the same spot all day, staring into the jungle with his back to the ocean and babbling about sharks and deep water.

Last night was a mess. I was trying to get Olly to come to his senses, and nothing was working, when Mumbuto suddenly walked up next to us. Honestly, I thought he had come to help me out at first. Would have been nice, considering I was clueless as to why Olly had gone nuts in the first place, so there was no way I was figuring out how to snap him out of it. Plus I was on crazy duty for close to three hours by then, and I was getting pretty tired.

But no, instead, Mumbuto just mumbled an apology to Olly, picked him up like he weighed nothing, and carried him into this circle of torches that definitely wasn't there earlier, when I had first sat down. You'd think I would have noticed him building something like that right behind me. Must have been distracted by Olly more than I had thought. I'm not quite _that_ oblivious to my surroundings. (Or so I'd like to claim, but that day we first met Berry I walked into way too many trees for me to convince anybody of that.)

Anyways, I was more confused than anything until Mumbuto pulled out this wicked looking stone knife (seriously, how did I not notice him making these?!) and tossed him onto this stone altar (again, how?!) right in the middle of the fire circle. Then he started chanting some kind of prayer and raised his knife right above Olly. That was about the time I started getting worried.

I know, I know. Really, I should have been worried way earlier. As in, right when Mumbuto first grabbed Olly, rather than right before he tried sacrificing him for some reason. Maybe Mumbuto was trying to get us a blessing for when we go out on the ocean? Not really certain, really, but either way, sacrificing our new buddies is _not_ a good way to help all of us make it out of this alive.

So, that was when Berry ran up, yelling something about not sacrificing Olly and getting right up in Mumbuto's face. This woman, barely even five feet tall and about as strong looking as a rabbit, got up in the face of one of the biggest, scariest guys I've ever seen. No fear at all, just ran up and shoved him back from Olly and started telling him off.

So hot.

Erm, anyways, the two of them got into this huge argument over whether or not they should sacrifice Olly—who, by the way, still didn't realize how close he was to becoming shark food because of how scared he was of becoming shark food. Kinda ironic. Mumbuto thought that Olly had been possessed by a demon of black magic, while Berry said that Olly was just having a major panic attack. They argued back and forth for a while, but then Berry seemed to get fed up with everything and just shot some blue light out of her arm, pulled a club out of thin air, and turned around and smacked Olly upside the head with it.

Mumbuto still wasn't convinced, but he was willing to wait for Olly to wake up before sticking his knife in him. When Olly eventually woke up again, he was relatively more sane, which was nice. Hearing about submarine sharks eating me over and over again was gonna give me nightmares. First words out of his mouth was an apology and a complaint about his head.

That was what convinced Mumbuto that Olly wasn't possessed after all, I guess, cause he let out this huge roar (of joy, I think) and picked up Olly in this massive bear hug. Of course, he didn't warn Olly or anything, so I'm pretty sure Olly pissed himself when scary dude suddenly screamed in his face and yanked him off the ground.

Now, Mumbuto seems weirdly respectful toward Berry. I'm not sure why yet, but at least he'll probably ask for her advice before sacrificing anybody.

In comparison, today was pretty uneventful. We mostly just collected wood and made ropes out of the plants around here so that Mumbuto could put together a raft later. We have to figure out how to turn some of these logs into planks, but Berry said she had a solution to that. Wouldn't tell us what it was yet though. She just giggled when I asked and said she didn't want to tell us so that she could scare the crap out of Mumbuto tomorrow.

God, her evilness just makes her even cuter. She does seem to have a kinda weird fear of feet though. She pretty much screamed and fell over backward when I sat down next to her and she saw that I didn't have any shoes on. Wonder what that was about?

* * *

Aiden

 _Day 2 of my Wherever-the-hell-this-is Expedition_

Yes, that is now my official name for this place. 'Wherever-the-hell-this-is land'. I think it has a nice ring to it. I wonder if I can get that approved as the official name once I get back home?

Not much to report on today, unfortunately. I wasn't able to do much other than work on making my tree house more comfortable. You know, since whoever sent me here didn't let me keep any of my gear. I'm convinced they would have even stolen my clothes, if I had been wearing any while I slept. Don't judge me. It's hot in the jungle, and humid.

Shit, I'm talking to myself again. Writing. Whatever.

From up in my treehouse, I can see the coast, sea, and another island off in the distance. If I could make it fifteen feet across the ground without being chased by one of the various, numerous carnivores that run rampant, I would go chart everything out, but my flight yesterday from the trike seems to have landed me smack in the middle of raptor territory. I'm stuck in the trees for now, since the raptors can't climb.

Yes, I tested that idea to make sure. I didn't want one of them barging into my house while I was sleeping. The test consisted of me climbing down one of the nearby trees, waving my arms around and yelling really loudly, and then bolting back up the tree as fast as I could. Good thing I did, too, considering the results. Final conclusion: raptors cannot climb trees.

They are, however, very fast and capable of leaping around fifteen feet into the air. If I still had my pants, I guarantee I would have had to throw them away after that. For now, I think I'm going to stick to the trees. The upper layers are thick enough that I can walk from tree to tree using the branches, without ever going near the ground. Unfortunately, the raptors populate this entire grove, and I would have to cross through relatively open ground in order to get away from here.

This machine has an automated mapping mechanism programmed into it, which makes things much more convenient for me. All I have to do is poke a few buttons, and it automatically scans my surroundings within twenty yards or so, repeating the process every time I walk to a new area. It would be great, if I weren't stuck thirty feet in the air and unable to accurately scan the topography. I'm definitely keeping this. Screw whoever it belongs to, they shouldn't have let me get my hands on it if they wanted it back.


	6. Chapter 6

**Day 6**

Aiden:

After some thought, I realized that 'wherever-the-hell-this-is land' is basically trademarked by Russia, so I don't think I can get that approved after all. I'll think of a name eventually. For now, I'll just refer to this as my 'Already-really-kaput' expedition. AKA, my ARK expedition. I think it's a suitable name, considering the raptors around here are preventing me from actually exploring much of anything, which is kind of the point of an expedition. I wonder if they hibernate or migrate once it starts getting cold out? So, getting right into things:

 _Day 3 of my ARK Expedition_

I'm still stuck in the trees.

* * *

Olly:

Well, maybe this won't be quite as absolutely horrifying as I originally thought. When Berry suggested we make a raft and sail over to one of the visible land masses off in the distance, I thought she was going to make a rickety canoe or something. Instead, she's somehow managed to put together what might as well be a full sailboat in less than a day, using nothing but wood and plant fibers. It's a little bit small for four people, but seemed surprisingly stable during the test run that Adam and Mumbuto took it for. At least, stable enough that it didn't capsize within the hour they spent sailing around the bay. Luckily, the sea around here is just as calm as the bay is, so we should be able to make it there without sinking or capsizing.

I mean, we can definitely make it there without sinking. Of course. And it's not like the sharks will see something floating across the top of the water and get curious and come try and bump into it and eat it for funsies. Oh no, no way at all.

* * *

Mumbuto:

The answer to the mystery of the Berry shaman woman's survival has been shown. She is a witch doctor of great power, one who can make things out of nothing and banish demons with only a wave of her hand. Her power must be greater even than the shaman of my tribe, for even he could do nothing to save those who had their souls consumed by demons.

I am glad. I did not wish to sacrifice the one who fears the water, but I had believed there to be no other choice. If the Shaman had revealed her power sooner, I would have first gone to her for help. From now on, I shall go to her when I have troubles I can not solve on my own.

Even more terrifying are the spells she casts by shooting blue light from her arms. Earlier today, after we had brought down one of the massive trees of the jungle, she waved her arm with blue light and made the entire tree disappear into thin air. Then, she did this to three more trees once we brought them down. Afterwards, we returned to the beach and she waved her arm once more, summoning many strange rectangular flat logs, several round logs, and many coils of rope in an instant. I was confused, at first, for nothing she summoned looked to be used for creating a canoe, but she then took mere hours to put all of the materials together in a form I have never seen before.

With her powers, she has crafted a strange canoe that moves itself across the water without oars. It is large and sturdy enough to walk on even as it glides across the top of the water, and difficult to overturn. On the front is a square cloth tree made of woven fibers. The Shaman says that the cloth eats the wind and uses it to move the boat. I shudder to think of the powers she must control, to be able to even devour the wind itself.

It is comforting to be watched over by such a powerful shaman.

* * *

Berry:

 _Journal Entry Five, Day Six, Southern Tropical Island_

I have successfully gained the respect of Mumbuto- an endeavor I had thought myself to have little chance of succeeding in. He admires strength and other warrior based traits and ideals, and I am, admittedly, sorely lacking in combative abilities. However, as luck would have it, he also has a near worship of 'black magic'. I discovered this by chance when I lost my temper and clubbed Olly over the head two nights ago. Apparently, the flash of blue light and sudden appearance of my club from inside my alien tool, along with Olly's recover after being hit, convinced Mumbuto that I am a powerful shaman. While it is irresponsible of me to take advantage of his misguided belief, I will take any opportunity I have to ensure my position in this group and increase my chance of survival.

 _Pfft._

 _Oh who am I kidding, I'm just going along with it because his look of wide eyed terror is freaking hilarious. Hahah, oh my god, I'm still cracking up just thinking about it! He looks like some kind of monster goldfish! HAHAHA_

Ahem. I am afraid I am unable to delete my writing the same way as is possible on a computer. Later on, I shall have to remember to go back and erase my previous break from professionalism.

Today, my tests using the alien tool to increase my productivity all ended in near perfect success. After carving a single plank and scanning it while Mumbuto, Adam, and Olly worked to cut down one of the massive jungle trees, I was able to convert the absorbed trees into planks with nothing more than a few presses of buttons. While the process still took some time, it was still far quicker than I could have accomplished by hand. Not only that, it seems the tool has the capability to automatically enlarge, shrink, or lengthen the objects it has scanned, rather than simply creating an exact copy. After scanning a short length of rope, I can now craft rope of any length I require as long as I have the necessary materials in the tool's inventory. The same goes for planks of varying sizes, as well as logs. Strangely, when I requested scaled down versions of the trees for use in our raft, the bark was still present on the exterior. It seems that the tool actually shrank the logs rather than internally cutting them down to size. I'm uncertain how this works, but I will keep this feature in mind for future use. Perhaps it will come in handy.

Tomorrow we will attempt to cross the sea to the larger island in the distance. From all the tests I performed on the raft today, we should be able to make it there with no problems. This is assuming, of course, that I have judged the distance correctly. Hopefully we are as close as I think, rather than the island being far larger and much further away. Olly will likely have another panic attack if it takes us more than a day to arrive.

Adam has been staring at me much more than I am comfortable with. Perhaps he also believes me to be some kind of magician? ...Of course, there is also the possibility that his staring is due to my slightly transparent nightgown that I still have not managed to replace. I had almost forgotten that I was wearing this, since nobody has mentioned it. After all, Mumbuto is wearing a loincloth and a Dilophosaurus frill as a poncho, and Olly is practically naked, so I am assuming that neither of them sees my nightgown as revealing.

I should borrow some of the hides Mumbuto has been hoarding so that I can make actual clothing. Like shoes.

Definitely shoes.

* * *

Jade:

I'm exhausted, so I think I'm going to keep this entry a little bit shorter than usual.

I spent all of today exploring the beaches and partway into the jungle with my new friend. It's much safer, now that I have her to help me scare away all of the smaller dinosaurs. She's also way better at hunting than I am, which is nice. I didn't realize how much I missed having meat until after I took my first bite of the beach chicken I roasted yesterday. Plus, just having someone to talk to makes everything seem much less terrifying.

I've decided to call her Iolite. It's her feathers that are purple, rather than her scales, but it's better than just calling her 'Raptor Buddy'. Besides, it still kind of matches, considering how shiny she is. Something interesting though- Iolite has already started responding to me calling her name. I can't tell if she's just answering my voice, or if she recognizes the name I gave her already, but I'd like to think it's the latter. With how intelligent her eyes are, I wouldn't be too surprised. It's too bad she can't talk.

Anyways, it's probably about time for me to figure out what to do next, now that I don't have to worry about dying immediately after anything sees me. Maybe I should look around for other people? I can't be the only one here, and maybe there are other people who actually know what's going on. Of course, I have to make sure that Iolite won't try to eat any people we meet, but I think I can do that.

I wonder if I can take Iolite home with me, when I figure out how to get back?


	7. Chapter 7

**Day 7**

Aiden:

 _Day 4 of my ARK Expedition_

Raptors do not respond with fear when I attempt to make myself look bigger. Also, Raptors seem to see larger species as nothing more than a super sized lunch. I'm still stuck in the trees.

Upside, no mosquitoes! Downside, there are dragonflies the size of birds that seem to like ramming into the walls of my still-a-work-in-progress thatch house. I mean, I appreciate their insistence on giving me windows and good airflow, but the next bugger that busts through my wall like it's the goddamn kool-aid man is getting squished.

* * *

Jade:

There is something very large, very angry, and completely terrifying roaming around the jungle. It was getting dark when it started chasing me, so most of what it looked like was hidden, but I was able to see its eyes.

They were a good twenty feet in the air, at least. And as if one massive, murderous dinosaur wasn't enough, when it roared at Iolite and I, there were other roars that responded to it from all around us. So whatever it is, it has a pack. The thing chased us down to the beach, and Iolite and I had to swim out into the sea to get away from it. By the time I was able to turn around to see what it was, it had already retreated back into the trees. All I was able to see were several pairs of eyes, staring out out us.

Iolite and I couldn't stay out in the water forever, and no way in hell was I going back onto the beach, so we swam out to one of the nearby islands instead. There isn't much here, just a bunch of trees and berry bushes, but it has a small bay and more than enough room for us to stay here for now. Even better, I can see across the entire island by standing on one of the nearby boulders, and there are no other dinosaurs here besides Iolite. Maybe I should try and set up a base here, so that I have somewhere safe to go back to at night. It would be a lot better than hiding in a hole under a rock, that's for sure. Besides, from here I can make some signal fires that could attract anybody on either of the nearby landmasses. It would be a lot easier than running around and hoping to find them in the jungle.

Now that I've written that, the idea is starting to grow on me. I've decided; if there are any people living in that jungle, they'll have to come find me, because I'm not going back in there with just Iolite and I.

* * *

Adam:

How in the hell did we manage to miss a gigantic alien space thing floating above our heads this whole time? I get that it was on the opposite side of the island from us, but seriously? You should be able to see that thing from anywhere this side of the freaking planet, with how huge it is.

I guess, in our defense, it has been pretty cloudy in this area ever since we got here. Today is the first day where the sky completely cleared up over the island we're on, and that thing is floating above where the clouds were, so it would have been hidden from us. Still though. What the hell.

Anyways, that's only the first major thing that happened today. The second big thing that happened is that our raft got destroyed. Apparently, there's a monster fish lurking around just outside the bay that really hates boats. And when I say monster fish, I mean _monster_ fish. It's probably about the size of Rupert (my bronto friend), and Rupert is pretty big.

So, what happened was this: we were getting ready to go this morning, and Mumbuto and I took the raft out to try and scout where we would be going. We were trying to get a feel for how the raft moved and all that while Berry and Olly gathered some supplies and finished getting ready. Everything was going great until we got to the entrance of the bay. Nice and peaceful, the sun's rising up and everything's just waking up, and then suddenly we get attacked by Moby Dick. I don't know what we did to piss it off, but one second we're sailing past the two outstretches of land that seal off the bay, and the next we're flying through the air surrounded by the splinters of our raft.

Luckily for us, Moby Dick was more interested in what was left of our raft than Mumbuto and I, and we managed to swim back to shore before it noticed us. Berry and Olly had seen what happened to us, and they ran out to meet us and make sure we were okay.

Well, Berry did, at least. Olly kind of just fainted. He was still out when we hiked our way back to camp twenty or so minutes later. After he saw that, I'm honestly not sure how we're going to convince him to get onto our next raft. We'll figure it out later, I guess.

We ended up spending the day hiking to the opposite side of the island instead (had to carry Olly again, but this shouldn't happen as much once we make it across the sea), since we weren't going to try sailing past Moby Dick again. Berry had us collect a bunch of wood again, and then sucked it all up into her wrist tool and used to to spit out another raft.

Oh, right, I asked Berry what the blue light she's been using was, and she taught me how to use my wrist tool to do a bunch of cool stuff. She asked me to keep it a secret from Mumbuto though, so that she could keep using it to freak him out. Sorry Mumbuto, I'd let you in on the secret, but if a cute girl smiles and asks you to do something, well…

* * *

Berry:

 _Journal Entry Six, Day Seven, Southern Tropical Island_

My earlier suspicions that I was abducted by aliens seem more and more to be the correct assumption. The massive blue obelisk floating in the sky is something impossible to replicate with current human technology. This does not give any hint as to why we were taken, nor where we are, but at least it lets us know that we are no longer on Earth.

Which… is a rather uncomfortable thought. How should we get back home if we are not even on the same planet anymore? I have decided to keep this idea to myself for the time being, as Olly has already been driven to mental instability and Mumbuto would likely go on another rant about black magic. He is already convinced that we have been dragged into some sort of hell, something that the obelisk only reinforced in his mind. However, he seems to be convinced that the light beaming down from the obelisk is a portal of some kind, and we simply need to find the correct sacrifices in order for it to send us back to our world. I hope this does not inspire him to provoke the larger creatures of this place.

On a separate note, our trip has been delayed until tomorrow. It seems that that there is a large fish outside of the bay that mistook our raft as prey and destroyed it. We had to spend our day hiking to the other side of the island and gathering materials to craft a second raft. Luckily I had the presence of mind to scan the raft into my tool beforehand, so crafting it this time was far quicker.

It is probably better for us to leave from this side of the island as it is, as the landmasses on this side are far closer than those across the bay. They are, however, far smaller looking that the landmass to the south we had originally planned to sail toward. In addition, there are several small islands that we can stop at, which may give Olly a chance to recover partway through our trip. A rest will extend our trip from an estimated two days to three or four days, depending on weather conditions and how Olly fares, but preserving our group member's sanity is more important than saving a day of time.

Today I managed to craft several pairs of leather boots using Mumbuto's hoard of dilophosaurus and compsognathus hides. Luckily, because of the tools ability to shrink or expand saved designs, I only needed to struggle through the process of crafting a pair of boots a single time. Mumbuto seemed confused as to what the boots were for until Adam showed him how to wear them, and Olly is still currently unconscious, but Adam gave me a strange look of amusement when I forcibly handed him his pair. I suspect he's already realized my admittedly strange fear of feet, but I appreciate his kindness in not bringing it up.

I dislike using the name "wrist tool" or "tool" to refer to this machine in my arm, as the word 'tool' could also apply to any number of less wondrous items other than this. Perhaps I shall start referring to it as an 'implant' instead, so as to distinguish between it and, say, my rock hammered into a stick that I call a hatchet.


	8. Chapter 8

**Day 8**

Adam:

Well, that's one way to keep Olly from having a panic attack, I guess. Somehow, I'm not surprised that Berry would do something like this, but it was kind of unexpected.

We finished up with our second round of preparation last night and called it a night pretty early on, so I woke up earlier than usual this morning. It's a good thing I did too, because the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes and sat up was Berry stuffing handfuls of the black berries down Olly's throat. Well, Berry's been using the scanner on her implant (she told me to call it that, and it seems as good a name as any) to figure out what each of the berries did, and I remember her mentioning that the black ones are basically knock out pills. I wasn't completely sure why Berry was feeding Olly enough berries to knock over a bronto, so I kind of just coughed awkwardly from behind her.

She kind of just froze, then turned around with this cutely awkward smile and hid the rest of the berries behind her back, and tried to pretend that she hadn't just sedated the crap out of our teammate by saying good morning to me. Now, as hilariously adorable as it was to see her acting like a little kid caught raiding the cookie jar, I still had to question whether Olly would be okay after being force fed dozens of knockout berries.

I guess she was expecting a way more intense reaction, because she just kind of blinked at me a few times, then gave this kind of evil giggle and said 'oh, he'll be better than fine'.

Then she turned around and went right back to stuffing knockout berries into his mouth.

I don't know whether I should be worried or not, but hell; at least now we don't have to worry about Olly having a seizure on the raft and falling into the water. We just tied him to the mast! He's like our figurehead, or a good luck charm. There aren't really any waves for us to worry about, and Berry, Mumbuto, and I have all learned how to keep the raft completely steady, so he'll be fine up there. A bit sore when he wakes up, maybe, but fine.

The water here is so clear it's unbelievable. The sea here is at least 100 feet deep, and I can see all the way straight to the bottom! There are lots of fish swimming around too (small ones, not Moby Dick sized raft eaters), and it's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. If it weren't for the fact that we need to make it across as fast as possible, I'd be tempted to go swimming around. Not now, of course, it's night time and way too dangerous, but during the day it would be nice.

Wait, Berry just said she saw a light on one of the smaller islands further south that looked like it could have come from a fire. Maybe there are people there! I'll keep writing tomorrow, too excited now.

* * *

Aiden:

 _Day 5 of my ARK Expedition_

Raptors are surprisingly resilient toward bashing attacks.

* * *

Mumbuto:

Our band has spent the day gliding across the ever reaching waters that cover this land. The sun is bright overhead, and the waters clearer and more glorious than any I have known, but I can not find myself at comfort aboard this canoe. Never have I felt at home while on the waters, but my fears during this journey are worse than ever before.

I worry for our fates if the leviathan returns once again. The eager one and I barely managed to dodge its maw during our last encounter, and there is no land to escape to now. I have spent the day keeping lookout for any hints of the leviathan, but it does not seem to know where we are. May it continue to be unaware.

The massive beast of the jungle seems far less terrifying now, when matched against the leviathan. Each monster I find in this land exceeds the last, and I find myself lacking. Tonight and tomorrow I shall spend the day in thought. If I do nothing but flee from these creatures, how can I call myself the chief warrior of my tribe? I must calm my heart and adapt to this new place and these new challenges. Sacrifices must be made to the portal, and I do not believe it will accept any but the most impressive of trophies. Maybe I shall try to train the eager one and he who fears the water to fight alongside me. They are no warriors, but I could teach them.

I am sorry, spirit of the frilled warrior, for my cowardice has shamed your memory. Although you were smaller by far, you did not hesitate to fight me with all you had. I shall strive to do the same, to the best of my abilities.

* * *

Jade:

I can't believe how lucky Iolite and I got last night, when we swam out to this island. If I had known that there were monster sharks the size of school buses swimming around just below our feet, I think I would have taken my chances with outrunning whatever that thing in the jungle was. As it is now, we're stuck on this island indefinitely, because I am _not_ trying to swim across again.

At least there are plenty of fish swimming around in the shallow water of the island's miniature bay, and they're slow enough that they aren't all that hard to catch. That should give Iolite and I enough food for now, until I can figure out how to get us back and forth between here and the mainland. We can't stay on this island forever, after all. I still need to figure out where I am.

In the meantime, I'll go with my plan from last night and see if I can attract any attention from whoever else might be around by lighting up a bonfire. There are plenty of trees on the island, so it shouldn't be too difficult to keep it going for a few hours a day, and through part of the night. Maybe there are people around here with boats.

Ha. Yeah right. If there were people with boats, I'd have seen something along the beach. It can't hurt to dream a little though, right?

Oh, right, something I found out today! Iolite is strong enough for me to ride on her back, and she is really, really fast. She seems to be pretty happy with carrying me around too, kind of like a scaly, predatory, two legged horse. I'm so glad I decided to help her out when I found her on the beach, since I don't think she would have grown to like me this quickly if it weren't for me saving her. I'm not even worried she'll try and eat me anymore, because she seems to be even smarter and more loyal than my old golden retriever.

Maybe I can teach her tricks?


	9. Chapter 9

**Day 9**

Berry:

 _Journal Entry Seven, Day Nine, Eastern Islets_

I was correct in assuming that other people were present on the other islands, although it would seem there are far fewer of them than I would have hoped. Our new group member, Jade, informed me that the four of us are the first people she has seen since arriving here. Admittedly, she also stated that she did not manage to explore all that large of a region, but neither did our group before we found each other. Perhaps we will be able to find more people further inland?

However, we have run into a problem. According to Jade, she was chased off of the island by several massive, and very likely dangerous, dinosaurs. They are apparently pack hunters, with the intelligence to communicate and corral their prey. If our group attempts to rush headlong into the jungle as we are currently, we will most likely perish in a matter of days. We need to prepare ourselves with better equipment and scout out the jungle gradually. Finding other people to join with is only important if all of us can stay alive until then.

For now, we have decided to stay on this island and turn it into our base of operations. It is a relatively small island, with little else but trees, rocks, bushes, and the occasional dodo bird. There is even a sheltered bay, around five meters in depth and filled with all manner of fish. Although there are numerous sharks prowling the waters surrounding the island, my observations have shown that they rarely enter the bay. While their presence will make it nerve wracking to travel between the landmass and our island, it will also serve as a major deterrent to any carnivores that would otherwise pose a threat to us.

I must wonder how Jade found it possible to befriend one of the massive raptors that roam these lands. It is… significantly larger than I had expected, now that I've finally seen one up close.

* * *

Olly:

You know, I would think I would have been a whole lot angrier at being drugged and tied to the mast during our trip, but I'm actually more grateful than anything. This way, I didn't have to suffer through an entire day of being on top of the ocean with nothing more than a few logs between me and the depths. Like, true, it would have been nice if they'd asked me first, but I can kind of see why they wouldn't. I haven't exactly been holding it together very well recently. It's just… the ocean. I haven't been able to deal with it ever since my birth father pushed me off the cliff. I mean, I was ten. It isn't my fault that I panic every time I have to go near the ocean, especially if there are sharks nearby. Hell, I'm lucky if I can take a bath without having a panic attack, so of course I'm going to freak out if I suddenly have to get on a boat.

I don't know. I'll have to find some way to make myself useful, so that I can make up for all the trouble I've caused everybody else. They were getting pretty irritated with me, and I can't blame them for it. If anything, I'm just grateful they didn't leave me behind when they sailed over here. In this situation, where I could have gotten them all killed, that's more than I could have ever asked for.

We decided we're going to turn this island into our home for now. I'll make it up to everybody by working my ass off to make sure it turns out perfect.

* * *

Aiden:

 _Day 6 of my ARK Expedition_

Raptors also do not respond kindly to being poked with sharp objects.

* * *

Adam:

Alright, if every girl we come across is gonna be this attractive, I'm glad I got kidnapped and dropped here. Admittedly, she's kind of young (like, definitely not older than 18 at max), but still! Berry is still better though. Pretty as she is, something seems kinda off with Jade. Berry can be a bit mischievous, but Jade kind of gives off the same aura of danger as Mumbuto does. I can't explain it, since she's nowhere near as intimidating looking as our resident tribal warrior. Of course, nobody else seems to have noticed anything wrong, so maybe I'm just imagining things.

Then again, maybe it wasn't actually Jade that made me feel uneasy. After all, every time I spoke with her, that raptor of hers was staring me down as well. Maybe it was the raptor that gave me that feeling, and I just associated it with Jade since she was the one I was talking to?

Ugh, I don't know. I'm probably just overthinking things.

There isn't much else for me to talk about today, actually. We spent the entire day relaxing on the beach, exchanging information, and trying to decide what else we were gonna do from now on. As far as I heard, we decided on turning this island into our base and then… something. I uh… I may have accidentally taken a nap during the majority of the discussion. I couldn't help it though! The sand was nice and warm, the sun was out for the second day in the row, and the sound of the waves was really relaxing. I'm sure it'll be fine though, it was mostly Berry, Jade, and (surprisingly) Olly who were discussing things while Mumbuto and I watched.

Now we're all just set up around the firepit that Mumbuto made earlier, staring up at the stars and chatting. It's kind of nice, actually. Like hanging out with friends again, for the first time in years. I didn't realize how much I missed this feeling until now.

Speaking of the stars though, I can't find any of the constellations. Actually, I can't even find the north star. That's weird.

* * *

Mumbuto:

We have added another to our group, a girl just barely into her first years of womanhood. She has strange, silver hair that gleams like burnished metal, but the others treated this as normal. Perhaps the lands they come from have many like her, and it is I who is unused to such sights. I shall put this matter to rest, since the others do not believe her to be a demon in human form.

Small frilled warrior, I have examined my soul and reignited my desire for battle once more. Tomorrow, I shall see if any of my allies will learn the ways of the warrior and fight alongside me to return home. Then, when my preparations are complete, I shall go forth and slay this lands most formidable beasts, so as to offer trophies to the portals.

I will return to my homeland.

* * *

Jade:

Well, my signal fire worked. First try too! Now I have a group, although I'm not completely sure if I can trust them yet. I'll have to keep my guard up until I get to know them better. Not that I'm too worried about them doing anything, since Iolite has my back.

It's too bad that they had no idea where we were either. I was hoping that the first people I met would be able to help me, but it looks like we're all just as clueless as one another. They originally wanted me to go with them to explore the rest of the island and look for people tomorrow, but I talked them out of that pretty quickly. Which is good, since I would hate to see the first people I've seen in over a week go off and get eaten right away. No way am I going back into that jungle without some way of dealing with whatever those things were that chased me away. Maybe we could find a way to befriend some of the other dinosaurs on the mainland, and use them to scare off the ones that want to eat us? Then again, it will probably be a lot harder to do that than I'm thinking. Not every dinosaur is going to be as amazing as Iolite.

Heh. The looks on my new group's faces when they first saw me riding around on Iolite were great. They reminded me of the looks my brother would give me when I'd show off in front of him. I kind of miss him. It's only been just over a week, but who knows how long it'll be before I can get back home?

I hope he's still doing alright without me around to protect him. I'm probably getting worried for no reason though. Even if I'm not there, the rest of the clan will keep him hidden from the Cleaners.

* * *

 _Author Note: I should be able to update much more frequently in the coming weeks, since I'm on break (and only working one job now instead of two, woo!). Anyways, bit more of a serious chapter, but it'll get more lighthearted again soon._


	10. Chapter 10

**Day 10**

Aiden:

 _Day 7 of my ARK Expedition_

Raptors also become very agitated when struck in the head with thrown stones.

And sticks.

And fecal matter. Yes, I'm running out of ideas. I've BEEN running out of ideas. Bite me.

* * *

Berry:

 _Journal Entry Eight, Day Ten, Eastern Islets_

I am beginning to question whether Adam is truly capable of feeling fear. He never seems to stop smiling, at least as far as I have seen, even when he does things dangerous enough to make someone like Mumbuto hesitate. For instance, today, when our group was deciding on a way to test whether the swarms of megalodon that prowl the surrounding waters would attack our rafts. I suggested sending out an unmanned raft, but without someone to control the sail, the movements of the raft would not have been sufficient to draw attention in the same manner as if someone were guiding it.

Before we had the chance to think of any other methods, Adam turned to me and told me that he would take care of my problem, then leapt onto the raft and sailed it out into the waters. His smile never left his face- if anything, it even widened when he turned to me. I believe the rest of the group was as dumbfounded as I was by his bravery, judging by the looks of shock on their faces.

At least, on Mumbuto and Olly's faces. Jade seemed to be questioning his intelligence instead. Hopefully this does not lower her opinion of our group's ability to survive. It would be highly disappointing if she were to leave in the belief that she would be safer alone.

After approximately two hours of sailing, Adam returned unscathed and reported that the megalodons "didn't think he was tasty looking." In conclusion, the megalodons have no interest in anything that floats along the surface of the water. This is comforting, as we will have to make frequent use of our raft to travel between our home island and the surrounding landmasses.

Lastly, Jade has found a new way of using the implants. After I showed her the implant's ability to recreate scanned objects, she quickly found a way to create the blueprints directly within the tool itself, using a holographic modelling program that was alongside the scanning program. I had noticed the existence of this program beforehand, but did not understand its usage until now. That Jade was able to understand what the program was within minutes of finding it, while I was not, is somewhat disappointing to me. However, she stated that she only understood its use because she had used similar holographic programs before.

This is something I find odd, since as far as I know, human technology has not yet reached this level. The closest thing I can think of to this would be the computer systems in the Iron Man movies, but the way Jade was speaking, it seemed as though she had actually come into real life contact with such programs. Perhaps she has simply had access to experimental technology that has not yet been released to the public?

I produced a pair of boots for Jade today, as she was lacking any sort of footwear. I could see Adam laughing out of the corner of my eye, but Jade luckily was so delighted that she did not notice. To my relief, she wore them immediately, making it much more relaxing to talk to her. Sitting on the ground without chairs or tables makes it difficult to avoid seeing people's lower bodies.

* * *

Adam:

WHAT. WAS. I. THINKING?!

Who in their right mind would VOLUNTEER to sail out over hordes of nightmare sharks to test whether they would want to eat them or not? I still can't believe I did that! Mumbuto, Olly, and Berry all seemed really impressed with how awesome I was, but I'm entirely with Jade on this; that was completely insane! I don't even blame her for looking at me like I was a complete moron!

Why do I get so stupid every time I talk with Berry? Seriously, she looks at me with that little smirk of hers and I just blank! I just… ugh. I can't help but want to show off in front of her, and for some reason I just can't say no if she asks me for something. Its like all my blood rushes to my head and I just lose all common sense. Or, well… one of my heads.

The worst part is, even though I know this is a thing, I'm probably still gonna go completely stupid the second she needs something. Maybe I can talk to Olly about this and see if he has any advice for thinking with the right head. I get the feeling that Mumbuto won't be much help, after all.

* * *

Jade:

I'm not really sure how my new group managed to survive through exploring an entire island, all things considering. There's Olly who looks like he's about to pass out every time he comes within ten meters of the water, Mumbuto keeps staring at Iolite in a way that makes me think he wants to fight her (she'd eat him for sure), and Adam is… a guy. With hormones. Lots of hormones. Enough said.

At least Berry is good at planning things out. I guess she has to be, considering the rest of the people she was working with before this. Not that the others are useless, under the right circumstances. Adam seems genuinely friendly and witty as long as he isn't anywhere near Berry, and Olly is extremely hard working as long as he isn't too close to the water. Mumbuto hasn't done that much to help out around the island so far, but the others told me that he's a really strong fighter. I'm not sure how much use a spear will be against some of the larger dinosaurs, but I'll reserve judgement until I see him in action.

Iolite seems to be adapting pretty well to having more people around. At least, I don't have to whisper to her not to eat my new group members every few minutes anymore. She still isn't comfortable enough to let them come too close to her, but maybe that will change with time as well. I'll let the others bring her food or something, maybe she'll warm up to them then.

Of course, we'd need to get more food first. We have plenty of fish and berries, but Iolite doesn't seem to like fish that much. Maybe I'll ask my group if I can borrow their raft tomorrow, so I can take Iolite hunting for more beach chickens. If I can convince Mumbuto to come with us, he could deal with any of the larger dinosaurs that try bothering us. Assuming he's as good at fighting as the others say, of course. Nothing too dangerous should find us as long as we stay out of the jungle.

I wonder if they would let me modify their raft? This one was good for a rushed project, but if we're going to be using it long term, it could be a lot better. Like, if I took the basic design, but replaced the logs on the bottom with hollowed out floats and changed the sails, it would go a lot faster. There are more things I could do as well, but I would need more time to plan that out. Maybe I'll take some time to try and draw out some plans for a larger boat after we go hunting. Or should I try and make an actual house for us instead? It hasn't rained again yet, but I can see a lot of clouds starting to gather, and some kind of shelter would be nice for when it does. I'll see if Adam and Olly would be willing to help me gather wood while I'm gone tomorrow. If anything I'll just ask Berry to help me out while Adam is within earshot, and he'll jump at the opportunity to show off how useful he is in front of her. Heh.

I thought my brother would be the worst case of stupid boy syndrome I'd ever seen, but I think Adam might be even worse, which is impressive— and not in a good way.

* * *

Olly:

There are a lot of different kinds of seeds on the berry bushes, other than the berries. I wonder what they're for? They don't seem like they're all for this kind of bush. I'll try planting some of them off to the side of the island. Maybe we can make a little berry farm or something.

I spent a lot of today using Berry's hatchet and pickaxe to dig out rocks so that I could turn our firepit into more of a stove. I mean, it was a lot of work, but I think it was worth it. I managed to use a bunch of stones and sand to set up the walls, then put a slab of stone on top of it. The stone on top should get hot enough that we can use it to fry things, plus now we don't have to worry about the wind causing problems with our fire.

I'll talk to the others to see if they have anything else they need me to do tomorrow, at least until I figure out what other things I can do to help out. Maybe I can start setting up a shelter for us? I think I could figure out how to set up at least a lean-to or something. It won't be perfect for the long run, but at least it should be more comfortable than sleeping out in the open like we have been.


	11. Chapter 11

**Day 11**

Aiden:

 _Day 8 of my ARK Expedition_

I DIDN'T MEAN 'BITE ME' LITERALLY YOU SCALY BASTARDS.

* * *

Mumbuto:

Today, I triumphed over one of the three-horns in battle. With my experience hunting the rhinoceros of my homeland, slaying the three-horns proved simpler than I had expected. My previous fear has clouded my mind, dulled my instincts. No longer. With this battle, I have proven that these monsters are no less mortal than any other creature, and expelled the cowardice from my heart. Still, there is difference between cowardice and caution. First, I shall watch the other monsters, learn of their lives and weaknesses. Only then shall I strike.

The Silver Witch and her familiar followed me during my hunt today, watching from behind. At first, I believed her slow and cowardly, unwilling to put herself in danger by joining me in battle. It was not until after the three-horns was slain that she stepped forward with a nod of approval and caused the three-horns to disappear in a flash of blue, just as the Berry Shaman does.

I believe she was testing me, weighing my abilities and worth. My performance must have satisfied her, as she praised my skills to the others of our group. Perhaps I have pleased her enough to beg her help with a plan I have thought of. The small frilled warrior must have been a champion of its kind, but since then I have found no other venom spitter its equal. In gratitude, I wish to train the others of its kind in combat, but am unsure of how to gain their approval. But the Silver Witch has tamed an even nobler monster. With her help, I may be able to assemble a pack of venom-spitters to hunt alongside me. They will share in my glory, and my gratitude toward the small frilled warrior will be repaid.

* * *

Jade:

Well, I guess that puts that question to rest. Mumbuto really is just as skilled with his spear as the others said he was. I'm still not convinced it will do much good against the larger dinosaurs around, but he somehow managed to take down a trike. Iolite and I didn't even have to help him. In fact, he actually ran off by himself just a few minutes after we made it onto the beach, leaving Iolite and I to drag the boat onto the sand so that it wouldn't float off. (I asked him why he did that later on, since I assumed it was common sense to make sure your only way back home doesn't disappear on you when you leave it, and all I can say is that that man has near fanatical belief in Berry's 'magical voodoo powers'.)

By the time we finished beaching the raft and caught up to Mumbuto, he had already managed to make one of the many trikes roaming the edge of the trees very, very angry. I thought he was going to get impaled when it first charged at him, but he just stepped to the side and dodged it like it was nothing. Then he jumped at the trike and his spear turned into a blur. Not even joking, I don't think I saw him pause his spear a single time during their fight. A few minutes later, the trike was lying on the ground with Mumbuto's spear through its neck.

Anyways, long story short, we now have enough meat for at least the next few days, even though Iolite and I never got a chance to hunt down the beach chickens. Oh, and Mumbuto now thinks that I'm also some voodoo witch doctor, like Berry. Oops. I didn't want to carry the trike back to our island, so I sucked it into my implant, and I guess the others haven't explained how the implants work to Mumbuto yet? I was going to tell him, but in the end I decided to talk to Berry about it first. Its possible they have a very good reason for not explaining it to him yet, like using his fear of magic to keep him in line or something like that. He's already shown that he has the potential to be extremely dangerous, and I don't want to mistakenly get rid of the only reason he hasn't murdered us all in our sleep.

At least now he's stopped looking at Iolite like he wants to fight her. I have to admit, I was a bit worried after I saw him take down the trike earlier. Maybe letting him think I'm some voodoo witch isn't such a bad thing after all.

Wait, he's coming over here now. Looks like he wants to ask me something.

…

He wants me to use my non-existent magical voodoo powers to tame him an army of dilos.

Crap.

* * *

Olly:

So, Today was a bit of a waste. I guess hard work can't really make up for lack of knowledge when it comes to setting up housing. Who would have guessed that a lean-to was so difficult to make properly? I asked Adam for help with it earlier, but he was just as clueless as I was, so we spent the majority of the day watching our logs fall over. Maybe I should have asked Berry instead, now that I think about it. She put together the raft, I bet she would know how to set up a building.

After a few hours of failing miserably at building our hut, Adam dragged me off to gather a huge amount of wood. As in, I'm pretty sure we cut down close to half the trees on the island, and there were hundreds of them. I'm not really sure why we needed so much wood, but Adam was very… Adamant that we needed to gather as much wood as possible. Then again, I don't think he was expecting us to get as much as we did, since he seemed surprised when we stacked the wood on the beach and ended up covering a good thousand square feet with logs. I think he was probably trying to show off to Berry again and went completely overboard.

I think the implants might do something to make it a lot easier to cut down the trees. Like, coating our axes with energy or something. Every time I chopped into a tree, the axe went through it a lot easier than I think it should have. I guess I'll tell Berry about it so she can experiment with it. Maybe she can figure out more about the implants from this.

* * *

Adam:

Well, Olly wasn't much help when I asked him for advice. He just doubled over laughing at me instead. I mean, I don't blame him, but still! That isn't gonna help me stop going stupid around Berry! Ugh. At least he has my back when I'm doing stupid stuff though. I have blisters on top of my blisters from going on a tree chopping rampage today, and Olly was right there with me the whole day, hitting trees with a crappy stone axe.

I couldn't help it though! I overheard Jade and Berry talking earlier about needing wood to improve our raft, and Berry turned and looked at me with that adorable puppy dog look that may or may not be entirely my imagination and I just immediately volunteered. Again. Dammit.

At least I managed to get Jade to laugh, finally. Usually she just has this completely deadpan expression, or sometimes furrows her eyebrows when she's annoyed with something, but when came back and saw the entire beach covered in logs, she literally fell off the boat laughing. Her raptor had to jump in and drag her to land, since she was laughing too hard to swim. I'm getting this feeling that she knew exactly what was going to happen when she asked Berry for help in front of me. Especially since, after she stopped laughing, she kept giving me this look of amused pity when she was thanking me for my hard work.

Ugh. I feel like I should be more upset about this, but its just really nice to have friends again. Besides, I don't think Jade was trying to manipulate me maliciously or anything. Pretty sure she just thought it was hilarious.

But wait, if she recognizes that I go completely stupid like this, maybe she knows a way I can deal with it? I'll try talking to her about it tomorrow, maybe she can help me out.

Its nice having friends again.

* * *

Bubbles:

 _Message is voice recorded:_

Um. Now, I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I didn't fall asleep upside down at the top of a massive tree in some kind of terrifying forest full of scary animals. So why did I wake up here? Where am I? Why do I have some computer thing in my arm? Help? Please? Anybody? That ostrich with the big head down there has been staring at me with hungry eyes for a long time now, and its creeping me out.

Hello? Anyone?


	12. Chapter 12

**Day 12**

Berry:

 _Journal Entry Nine, Day Twelve, Eastern Islets_

What in the world is Bubbles doing here?

I unexpectedly received a transmission late last night from what I at first believed to be an unknown source. After I figured out how to open and listen to the message, a process which took approximately one hour, I was simultaneously pleasantly surprised and extremely distressed when I recognized the voice of the sender to be my childhood friend and current lab assistant, Bubbles. (While I would prefer to address her by her actual name, she is frighteningly insistent that I use her nickname instead. As this is a journal, and not a formal report, I will acquiesce to her throughout these entries.) Although it is comforting to have heard a familiar voice, Bubbles is severely lacking in the sort of discipline and common sense that she would need to survive on her own. Luckily, after I sent her a reply asking her to help me determine her current location based on the positions of the sun and the blue obelisk, I was able to approximate her direction from our home island. With the companionship of Mumbuto and Adam, I sailed south as soon as the sun rose.

As our target landmass is distant enough that it is barely visible, I suspect it will be several days before we reach Bubbles. I have asked her to try and make her way to the beach, so as to make it easier to find her, but I can not help but worry for her safety. For now, I've instructed her to avoid contact with the wildlife under any circumstances. I do not believe she will listen to me, of course, as she never does when it comes to anything outside of strictly regulated lab experiments, but I am hopeful that the current circumstances will be shocking enough that she will follow instructions just this once.

 _Who am I trying to fool, of course she isn't going to listen to me. She'll probably get bored and go exploring like she ALWAYS does. UGH. I swear, if she weren't so sweet and likeable, people would think she was dropped on her head instead of calling her happy go lucky. Sigh. Now I'm just being mean. I'm just worried about her. I guess as long as she doesn't do something completely idiotic, like try and pet the local predators, she should be alright._

I apologize to whomever may read this in the future for my break in professionalism. I found it necessary to vent my frustrations to something other than my companions. Adam has listened to me with far more patience than I have earned, and I can not distract Mumbuto from steering our raft. Also, Adam is doing increasingly stupid things in his attempts to keep me from further stressing myself out over Bubbles' safety. His last attempt involved him leaping into the water to try and pick up a massive pearl that was embedded in the reefs several meters below us. Unfortunately, he lacked the presence of mind to warn Mumbuto or I before jumping off, and so we had not stopped the raft to wait for him before he jumped. By the time we managed to circle back around to save him, he was surrounded by several ichthyosaurus that seemed to be searching his clothing for food. Luckily, there were no megalodons in the surrounding waters, and I immediately berated him for his recklessness once he was safely on the raft again.

 _His squeal of terror when one of the ichthyosaurus used its snout to launch him out of the water was funny though, and it was kind of cute how proud of himself he looked when he pulled the pearl from his implant, even though the pearl is pretty useless. I mean, what in the world am I going to do with a pearl almost as large as my head in this situation? Actually, what would I do with a pearl that large even if I was home? Of course, that just made it even funnier that he would actually risk his life to grab it just to try and cheer me up. Plus that smug, self satisfied look he had was hilarious. He did manage to take my mind of things though, so I guess his smugness was warranted._

Thankfully, Jade was able to finish upgrading our raft overnight, as soon as I let her know that I had to go save Bubbles. It nearly doubled the raft's speed, as well as improving our ability to steer it, which is excellent for multiple reasons. Mostly the fact that I have little hope for Adam's survival were this trip to take twice as much time as it will now.

* * *

Adam:

Hell yeah! One point to Adam! Who's good with women? I am!

Who almost got himself killed today trying to impress the girl? Also me…

Eh. Worth it.

* * *

Bubbles:

 _Entry is voice recorded:_

Yay! Riri is here too, and she said she's coming to pick me up! She did say it would take her a few days, but I'm sure I can find something to do. No, wait, Riri told me to stay near the beach and not to wander around. What is there to do on the beach? I would go swimming, but Riri also said not to go in the water. I guess I can just lay out in the sun for now.

…

Nope, this is boring. I'm gonna go pick some berries off those bushes I found in the forest. I know Riri said not to go back in there, but I'll be fiiiine. Besides, I'm hungry, and I can't eat sand!

* * *

Jade:

Since Berry took the raft and I completely forgot to scan it into my implant before she left, I'm now stranded on this island for the time being. We made sure that Olly and I had plenty of food before they left, but we didn't realize that the trike meat can still spoil inside of our implants. I only found out when I tried to pull out a steak to give Iolite and it was already giving off this funny smell. Olly and I are still fine, since there are fish and berries everywhere, but Iolite isn't a big fan of either of those. If the others are going to be gone for almost a week, I might have to design my own raft from scratch instead of just scanning the one we have. That seems like it would waste a lot of time though, so I'll save that as a last resort. For now, we have around twenty pounds of meat that Olly cooked last night, since that hasn't spoiled yet. I don't know how long that will last, but maybe we'll luck out and it will stay edible until the others get back with the raft.

Iolite was pouting though, since I think she likes fresh meat more than cooked meat. She's now sulking by the stove and taking a really long nap, and seems like she's purposely ignoring me. Like a little kid! It's adorable. I'll have to see if I can cheer her up tomorrow, once she's eaten and rested up.

In the meantime, I've decided to put all this wood that Adam and Olly gathered to good use by building everybody a house. So far, I've designed four standardized parts that fit together like puzzle pieces; the foundation that also works as flooring, the walls, the roof, and a doorway. I tested them out earlier, and they work pretty well for my first attempt at this. They slot together so that I don't need nails or anything, although I'm not sure how well they'll hold up on a bigger house. Guess we'll see tomorrow.

The implant makes assembling the house really easy though, so even if it doesn't work out, I'll just have to try different designs. After a little bit of experimentation earlier, I found out that the implant can project a holographic image of whatever I'm trying to pull out of it that I can position beforehand. When it spits out the object, the object comes out exactly where the hologram was. When I combine that with the automatic assembling of the different parts, I think I can set up the house by myself in a few days. Er, assuming I have enough materials, of course. Now all I need is a floorplan and I should be ready to start.

Who would have guessed that learning about wooden japanese construction along with my brother so that we could make better clubhouses for our group of friends would ever come in handy again?

* * *

Olly:

Jade is a lot nicer than I thought she was at first, now that I'm getting to know her a bit more. I've been trying to avoid her, since she always had this glare on her face and didn't seem like she wanted to talk to me, but when we were working on the house earlier she wasn't actually that angry or mean. I guess she was still just a little bit suspicious of our group and wanted to make sure we weren't going to hurt her or anything. She still seems a bit wary, but much more relaxed with just me here. That makes sense though, if the whole reason she's been so standoffish is that she was worried about us harming her. It's not like I can really fight her guard raptor even if I did want to attack her. Which I don't, by the way. It would also explain why she seems more at ease around Berry, since Berry isn't really threatening at all. She's kind of tiny, actually.

I wonder why Jade is so suspicious of us. Considering what's going on, where everybody is relying on each other to survive and try and figure out where we are, most people would have joined in with the group as soon as we found each other. Not that she isn't working with us, of course. It just almost seems to me like she still feels like she's _just_ working with us instead of being an actual part of our group, if that makes sense. Maybe she'll get closer to us with a bit more time.

* * *

 _Author Note: Will be pausing Journals temporarily to finish the next chapter of Trials of a Pawn that I've been putting off for way too long now. I should post the next chapter of Journals around 5 days from now or so._


	13. Chapter 13

**Day 13**

Bubbles:

 _Message is voice recorded:_

Wait, come back little lizard-bird thing! I spent all day finding those berries, give them back!

 _Shrill shrieking noises_

No, I said give them back, not eat them! If you don't give them back, I'm going to smack you.

 _Shrill shrieking noises_

How rude! Alright, fine. If you wanna be mean to me, I can be mean right back.

 _ **Thunk**_

…

 _ **Thunk**_

Um… oh dear. I think I knocked it out. I'm sorry little lizard-bird thing, I just wanted to make you drop my berries. Here, you can have half of them as an apology. You know, if you had just asked nicely, I would have let you have some. Well, bye bye little lizard-bird thing!

 _Pained squawking noises_

...

Hm? Oh, oopsie, I must have hit record by accident while I was running around. Now how do I delete this? Hmm… wait, no, not that button! Cancel, cancel, cancel! Oooh no.

* * *

Berry:

 _Journal Entry Ten, Day Thirteen, Eastern Islets_

 _..._

 _What the fudge is she doing?!_

* * *

Jade:

I'm completely exhausted. Just sitting next to our oven is making it hard for me to stay awake, but at least I managed to set up the entire foundation for our house today. Everything fit together exactly like I planned it to, although I'm a little bit worried about how shallow the foundation pillars are set into the ground. I was only able to drive them down about a foot and a half or so, even with the implant's help, so if this place has earthquakes, the house won't last very long. The other problem is how drafty it's going to be inside, since the wind and rain can get through the cracks between the wood. I wonder if there's any clay around here we can dig up and use to fill that in? That can wait until everything is set up and Berry's group gets back though, since I'll need more help with that than just Olly.

Anyways, tomorrow I should be able to set up all the walls, and maybe even the ceilings, considering how quickly I managed to get the floors set up today. I want to give the house multiple levels, so I'll need to figure out how to brace the ceilings for that and come up with a design for some kind of staircase. That shouldn't be too hard though, especially with the implant making things easy for me.

I wonder if I'm overdoing this? I don't even know if I'm going to be staying here, with these people, for the long run, so maybe I should just make something simple. But then again, this is the most comfortable and relaxed I've been since I was dragged here. It's just nice to work on something like the projects big brother Jasper used to drag me into before the clan war, instead of running around trying not to get eaten by dinosaurs. Although now that I think about it, this is pretty much the same as before I woke up here. Hiding from dinosaurs or hiding from the Cleaners, either way I'm still always on edge.

Oh, right, Olly said he wanted to talk to me about something. I guess I should go take care of that before I fall asleep.

* * *

Olly:

Apparently, it was a really good thing that Adam and I cleared half the island of trees. I had to go around using my implant to suck up the leftover tree stumps, but it gave us a lot of space for Jade to start building our house. Well… useable space. Jade saw me completely failing at setting up my lean-to earlier today and just died laughing. I guess a sloped, super sandy beach isn't exactly the best place to try and build much of anything other than sand castles. At least, not without proper foundations to build on, or something like that? Jade went into some really bori- I mean, some really in depth explanations of piers and beams and something about raft foundations, but I kind of got lost in the first couple minutes. I think all I really got out of that conversation was that Jade can build a house and my lean-to sucks.

Oh, and I guess Jade didn't want to build a cozy little, easy to build hut, because when I came back from fishing earlier she had somehow set up over a thousand square feet of floors on the clearing Adam and I made a few days ago. She even said she had planned out a way to make more than one floor. I mean, I was expecting a hut, or maybe a cabin, but it seems like she's trying to set up a mansion. I think her idea of housing is really, really different from mine. Maybe she comes from a rich family?

I really wish I could help out a bit more, but when Jade tried explaining what she was doing to set up the house…

Long story short, I'm now looking after Jade's raptor, Iolite, while Jade is busy. The only problem is, I think Iolite is getting hungry, I've run out of trike meat, and she keeps staring at me and drooling. Maybe I should try to find something else for her to eat, because she won't even look at the fish. Literally won't look at it, like, I toss the fish to her and she just keeps staring at me and completely ignores it. And we don't have a raft.

Sigh.

* * *

Adam:

And here I thought this trip would be boring! I just came on this trip because Berry asked me to, but there's tons of cool stuff to see, even if I were to ignore all the prehistoric animals running around. There's massive coral reefs, all sorts of colorful sea plants, enormous pearls and crystals, and the water is so clear that I can see all of it just by looking over the side of the raft. We even passed this volcano island earlier that was shaped like a skull! I don't think that it was formed naturally, but still. Bad. Ass.

Now, don't get me wrong, it's not like this isn't a tense boat ride or anything. Mumbuto is still his normal, terrifying self, and Berry is very obviously stressed out of her mind. I don't think I've ever seen her acting this stressed and worried, which is strange considering… well, everything. Even being thrown into an unknown jungle, facing down angry dinosaurs, and sailing across an ocean filled with bus sized sharks didn't cause her to lose her cool, but I haven't seen her really calm down for even a minute since she heard from her friend Bubbles. In a way, I'm kind of jealous.

Funny thing is, when I say I'm jealous, I don't mean that I'm jealous that Berry cares so much about someone else. I think its really just that… well, that Bubbles has someone who would be so worried about her. It's just something I haven't had since my parents kicked it. Hell, I've been gone almost two weeks, and probably the only person who's even realized I've disappeared from the face of the earth is my boss. And even that's only because he'll be pissed that he doesn't have someone to dump all his work on so he can go play golf with his buddies. To tell the truth, I'm almost hoping that we don't find out how to get home anytime soon. Going from this, where every day is filled with new things, where everything is exciting, where I have a group of friends to laugh and play with, back to spending every day alone in a dark office, wondering why I even bother getting up in the mornings?

Is that really what I want?

* * *

! $P3%:

 _User data corrupt. Body unable to withstand rigors of scanning process. Name not found. Module functions restricted to basic access. Lifting restrictions requires body of sufficient strength. Scanning user internals._

 _Processing…_

 _User's organs deteriorated. Expected failure within ten years. Fatal poison contained in body. Expected breakout within seven days. Granting access to assimilation programs._

 _Processing…_

 _Body unable to handle increased strain. Examining exchangeable functions._

 _Processing…_

 _Access to assimilation programs requires shutdown of messaging, construction, mapping, and design programs. Rerouting pathways._

 _Processing…_

 _User granted customized access. Temporarily restricted to assimilation, observation, storage, and journal programs._

…

 _Observation software activated. Specimen in zone: Swamp. Visual surveillance restricted. Audio surveillance activated:_

" _Get the hell off me! Who are you people? What do you want?"_

"I told you to gag him!"

"I did! He must have got it out somehow."

 _"Let me go, you damn ape!"_

"You, be quiet, or we'll all die. We're in rex territory!"

 _"What? What the hell is a rex?"_

"Shut him up, Daniel!"

"I'm trying, dammit! Get over here and help me, he's tough for such a scrawny bastard."

 **Nearby roaring**

"Shit, it's right on top of us! Run! Run!"

 _"Oh. That's a rex. Crap."_

 **Audio distorted by water**

 _Audio surveillance deactivated._


	14. Chapter 14

**Day 14**

Jade:

Well then, I wasn't really expecting to finish the entire first and second stories of the house today, but I guess the implant is even more efficient than I thought. Actually, a better way of saying it would be that now that I've realized how to use it more effectively, the implant can help me work even faster than I had first thought. The storage program has limited space, so I can only store so much inside. Up until yesterday, I had been sucking the wood and other materials into the storage space, using the internal construction program to turn all those materials into whatever I was building, and then immediately walking the five hundred feet or so from the beach to the house to place the newly constructed pieces down. Seems logical enough, right? But then I realized that the amount of wood that was disappearing was larger than the amount that was actually present in the new walls and stuff. I'm assuming the wood is cut down inside the implant and it automatically disposes of all the scrap.

Point is, after crafting the walls, they take up way less space inside the implant than the raw materials do, freeing up space for me to absorb more materials to turn into building parts. I can carry four or five times more structures per trip than I could with my previous method of doing this. That saves a lot of time.

I divided the first floor into three rooms and the second into two. When I finish the third floor tomorrow, I'll divide it into two rooms as well. That should give them each a room of their own, along with a community room and a storage area. I'll see what I can do about reinforcing everything with beams later on, but for now, it's sturdy enough that I could drop several thousand pounds of logs across the second floor without any problems. It helps that the stairs double as a sort of support pillar for the house, spiraling right up the center of each floor. This should be a pretty decent house for the group for now. I might need to expand it or make other houses across the island if they pick up more people, but so far there'll be more than enough space for all of them since I'm not planning on staying in the house. I'll make myself and Iolite a smaller hut on the beach after I finish this house, down by the bay. The looser soil down there wouldn't have been enough to support the main house, but it should be fine for just Iolite and I.

Speaking of Iolite, we got lucky today with finding her food other than Olly. Good thing too, since he was starting to worry she thought he 'looked delicious'. He came over and had a rather panicked conversation with me last night because he woke up to her staring down at him and drooling on his face. Hopefully he wasn't too upset that I was laughing too hard to give him a sincere seeming apology.

Anyways, one of the parasaurs had somehow managed to swim from the mainland over to here overnight without getting eaten by sharks. I'm… really not certain why it thought it was anything resembling a good idea to swim here, but it worked out in our favor. Iolite and I found it wandering around the new house when we made our second trip over from the beach.

It didn't live long.

Good news, Iolite has now eaten enough to last her for at least the next day or so, and is now happily sleeping off a food coma down by our stove. Bad news, I have no idea how I'm going to paint the rest of the house red to match the west side of the first floor. The area for Olly's future berry farm also looks like it belongs in a scene from a horror movie. I'm pretty sure Iolite did it on purpose too, just to try and freak Olly out. Sorry Olly.

Now that I think about it, I bet Iolite and my brother would get along really well, if I can get her back home with me. She acts mischievous enough that he'd have a great time teaching her to prank people. Probably me, like usual.

Maybe I shouldn't let them meet after all.

* * *

Mumbuto:

The first part of our journey came to an end today just before the sun left the sky. Although we reached land shortly after midday, the Shaman's companion was nowhere to be found. Instead of quickly beginning the trip back as we had planned, we instead waited a small distance away from the coast for the Shaman to speak with her companion through a spell.

Her spell took many hours to cast, and so I swam to the shore and gazed upon the jungle of majestic, red trees that touched the sky. They dwarfed me, and I have never felt so small as when I stood at their bases and stared up at their heights. Even the smallest of them was far larger than any of the trees of my homeland. I wonder at the size of the creatures that live in a land like this. Might some of them be even larger than the ones I have seen before? I shall need to make a bigger spear. One made of fine iron.

After the Shaman found the location of her companion, we sailed down the coast until we reached a small stream. There, we left the raft behind and followed the stream inland until we reached a tree that was surrounded by many strange ostriches with large heads and ferocious beaks. The Shaman's friend, who is named a foreign word that I am told is related to very hot water, was sitting on the high branches of the tree, trapped by the large headed ostriches.

I felt desire to do battle with the ostriches, but the eager one refused to allow me to approach them alone. Instead, he asked the shaman to create walls with many spears pointing outwards and then had her surround us with them. Only then did he allow me to shout my war-cry, drawing the attention of the large headed ostriches. They charged us, fury in their eyes and hunger in their bellies, but I was not given the chance to fight. Instead, their charge led them to their deaths, as the spear wall held firm under their weight and slaughtered them all.

This has made me more wary of the eager one. Something so simple, but so effective, is not something I would have ever thought of doing. While I at first thought that he was too passive to be a warrior, I wonder if he can think of more ideas such as this. It may be wise to try and train him, regardless of his nature. His ideas may serve to give him another path toward combat than what I know.

We have begun sailing back toward our camp with the boiling water woman in tow. In a matter of days, we shall have made it back to our camp. After this, I believe the others shall not need my help for some time, so I will soon be able to begin my hunt.

* * *

! $P3%:

 _Scanning user internals._

 _Processing…_

 _Poison breakout expected in six days._

…

 _Observation software activated. Specimen in zone: Swamp. Visual surveillance restricted. Audio surveillance activated:_

"Have you found the runt's trail yet?"

"No. Are we sure he's even still alive? Maybe the rex got him."

"It didn't."

"How do you know?"

"There was only one set of tracks on the same route as the rex, and they belonged to Daniel."

"And Daniel was eaten."

"Exactly."

"I can't wait to get my hands on that little bastard. We still haven't finished repairing our wall where the rex busted through, and the only reason any of us made it out alive is because it wasn't hungry after murdering half of us. We should have just slit his throat when we first found him, instead of trying to take him back alive."

"You idiot, what would be the point of finding slaves if we just killed them before they put in any work?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

 **Sound of splashing water**

"Did you hear that?"

" _Shit."_

 _Audio surveillance deactivated._

* * *

Adam:

Well, I guess terror birds aren't very smart. I was just expecting them to stop outside of the wall so that Mumbuto could try and spear them or something, but they just ran head first into the spikes and killed themselves. I mean, I'm not complaining, but still.

Other than that though, today has been pretty quiet. The landmass Bubbles was on is covered in some kind of massive redwood forest, with trees that are hundreds of feet tall. I really wanted to climb up to the top of one of them, but I had to try and keep Berry calm after we arrived and couldn't find Bubbles anywhere. Sucks, really. I bet the view from up there would have been amazing, plus I might have been able to get a better idea of everything around us.

On the bright side, Berry is a lot less stressed after we found Bubbles. Speaking of whom, Bubbles is a little bit… strange. She looks around the same age as Berry, so like, late teens or so, but she's even more immature acting than I am— and I'm pretty goddamn immature, if I'm going to be honest here. Oh well. Maybe it's just her way of talking? I'm sure I'll figure it out after the next few days. After all, we're going to be stuck on the raft anyways, so I'm sure we'll end up chatting a lot.


End file.
